ISLAMABAD: A candlelight vigil held on Saturday evening outside the National Press Club in Islamabad to mourn the death of Hina Javed called for an end to femicide in Pakistan.

Javed’s body was found in her apartment in Rawalpindi last week bearing signs of torture. The police have arrested her husband and a domestic worker.

The vigil, largely attended by women, demanded an end to pervasive violence against women in the country and justice for Javed. Addressed by multiple speakers, the main demands were an “end to femicide,” better legislation to prevent domestic violence, and an end to a culture of impunity for perpetrators of violence.

Participants lit candles and placed flower bouquets next to pictures of Javed while chanting slogans calling for justice. Addressing the gathering, her cousin Sarah Afreen Malik said it was a tragedy that Hina, 45 years old and so accomplished, was no more after only nine months of marriage. “Our family will never be the same; we are never going to recover.”

Sabah Bano Malik, another cousin of Javed, said the idea that violence against women was rare was outrageous. “We want Pakistan to declare gender-based violence an active femicide and to put resources towards it,” she said, adding that they did not want any other family to lose a daughter they love to femicide.

“…I am pushing so hard, the name a femicide, call it what it is, so that resources go towards that, such as public media campaigns, education, these sorts of things, because to have a headline four times a day, you know, crying that another woman has died -- that is a problem.”

A 29-year-old artist, who refused to give her name, said the violence against women has been acceptable in society for a long time due to a patriarchal and misogynistic mindset, and in certain instances, even state officials have resorted to victim-blaming instead of providing justice. There is no place that is safe for women, she said, adding that Pakistan was at the bottom of the gender index. She said so much needed to be changed, including laws and norms, but most of it — the culture of reducing women to honour — must be changed.

According to the UNFPA, “In Pakistan, 28% of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, and 6% have experienced sexual violence. 34% of ever-married women have experienced spousal physical, sexual, or emotional violence.”

In a comment on the marriage culture and its connection to domestic violence, Sabah said reducing women to just marriage was incredibly unfair. “I’m not against marriage or having children, but when a girl is born, if that’s all you’ve signed up for her, it’s incredibly unfair; we don’t look at girls and women as people with their own autonomy and their own minds.”

Barrister Irum Ali told Dawn Pakistani women were the victims of the patriarchal system that perpetuated violence against them. “…All of this boils down to one issue: that a woman is not considered human… men do not consider a woman their equal or a human being who can feel the same way, who can think the same way, who can act the same way, who can go out and do whatever she wants,” she said. She said it was not even about competition but about fragile male ego and toxic masculinity. “The system has failed them. The justice system has failed them, and their own families have failed them…”, she added.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026